Ben Affleck's The Batman Script Was Inspired By David Fincher
The Dark Knight almost played The Game.
There's a slight sadness to the fact that we won't ever get to see Ben Affleck's vision for The Batman. Even with the restrictions of the DCEU and Warner Bros potentially breathing heavily down his neck, having such a visionary director tackling such appropriate material was a match made in heaven.
Matt Reeves is absolutely a great replacement, but it would still have been delightful to see how Affleck would have turned his hand to the Dark Knight. And now it seems we've got a hint of what it might have looked like.
According to Umberto Gonzalez of The Wrap David Fincher’s exceptional 1997 film The Game was set to be a source of inspiration for The Batman. Presumably that means we would have seen elements of the plot - in which a man discovers his life is part of a conspiracy - forming the basis for the script.
Affleck was very open about wanting to make The Batman as a detective film, and that claustrophobic thriller style would have been the perfect tone to shoot for. You can also see why it would appeal to Affleck as a film-maker, given the complexities of the story.
Unfortunately, we won't get to see that vision, which would have included Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke, but Reeves' take on The Batman should be a good second prize.